[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 152 (Monday, August 9, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48201-48203]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-18264]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-886]


Antidumping Duty Order: Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags From the 
People's Republic of China

AGENCY: Import Administration, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 736(a) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended, the Department of Commerce is issuing an antidumping duty 
order on polyethylene retail carrier bags from the People's Republic of 
China.

[[Page 48202]]


EFFECTIVE DATE: August 9, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hermes Pinilla, AD/CVD Enforcement, 
Office 5, Import Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, 14th 
Street and Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20230; telephone: 
(202) 482-3477.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Scope of Order

    The merchandise subject to this antidumping duty order is 
polyethylene retail carrier bags (PRCBs) which may be referred to as t-
shirt sacks, merchandise bags, grocery bags, or checkout bags. The 
subject merchandise is defined as non-sealable sacks and bags with 
handles (including drawstrings), without zippers or integral extruded 
closures, with or without gussets, with or without printing, of 
polyethylene film having a thickness no greater than 0.035 inch (0.889 
mm) and no less than 0.00035 inch (0.00889 mm), and with no length or 
width shorter than 6 inches (15.24 cm) or longer than 40 inches (101.6 
cm). The depth of the bag may be shorter than 6 inches but not longer 
than 40 inches (101.6 cm).
    PRCBs are typically provided without any consumer packaging and 
free of charge by retail establishments, e.g., grocery, drug, 
convenience, department, specialty retail, discount stores, and 
restaurants, to their customers to package and carry their purchased 
products. The scope of the investigation excludes (1) polyethylene bags 
that are not printed with logos or store names and that are closeable 
with drawstrings made of polyethylene film and (2) polyethylene bags 
that are packed in consumer packaging with printing that refers to 
specific end-uses other than packaging and carrying merchandise from 
retail establishments, e.g., garbage bags, lawn bags, trash-can liners.
    Imports of the subject merchandise are currently classifiable under 
statistical category 3923.21.0090 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of 
the United States (HTSUS). This subheading also covers products that 
are outside the scope of this investigation. Furthermore, although the 
HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs purposes, our 
written description of the scope of this investigation is dispositive.

Antidumping Duty Order

    On August 2, 2004, the International Trade Commission (ITC) 
notified the Department of Commerce (the Department) of its final 
determination pursuant to section 735(d) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as 
amended (the Act), that the industry in the United States producing 
PRCBs is materially injured within the meaning of section 
735(b)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by reason of less-than-fair-value imports of 
subject merchandise from the People's Republic of China (PRC). 
Therefore, in accordance with section 736(a)(1) of the Act, the 
Department will direct U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to 
assess, upon further advice by the Department, antidumping duties equal 
to the amount by which the normal value of the merchandise exceeds the 
U.S. price of the merchandise for all relevant entries of PRCBs from 
the PRC. These antidumping duties will be assessed on all unliquidated 
entries of PRCBs from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from the warehouse, 
for consumption on or after January 26, 2004, the date on which the 
Department published its Notice of Preliminary Determination of Sales 
at Less Than Fair Value and Postponement of Final Determination: 
Polyethylene Retail Carrier Bags from the People's Republic of China, 
69 FR 3544 (January 26, 2004).
    Section 733(d) of the Act states that instructions issued pursuant 
to an affirmative preliminary determination may not remain in effect 
for more than four months except where exporters representing a 
significant proportion of exports of the subject merchandise request 
the Department to extend that four-month period to not more than six 
months. At the request of exporters that account for a significant 
proportion of exports of PRCBs, we extended the four-month period to 
not more than six months. See 69 FR at 3545-46. In this investigation, 
the six-month period began on the date of the publication of the 
preliminary determination and ended on July 24, 2004. Therefore, in 
accordance with section 733(d) of the Act and our practice, we will 
instruct CBP to terminate the suspension of liquidation and to 
liquidate, without regard to antidumping duties, unliquidated entries 
of PRCBs from the PRC entered, or withdrawn from warehouse, for 
consumption on or after July 24, 2004, and before the date of 
publication of the ITC's final injury determination in the Federal 
Register. Suspension of liquidation will continue on or after this 
date.
    With the exception of subject merchandise manufactured and exported 
by Hang Lung Plastic Manufactory, Ltd. (Hang Lung) and Nantong Huasheng 
Plastic Products Co., Ltd (Nantong), on or after the date of 
publication of the ITC's notice of final determination in the Federal 
Register, CBP will require, at the same time as importers would 
normally deposit estimated duties on this merchandise, cash deposits 
for the subject merchandise equal to the estimated weighted-average 
antidumping margins listed below. Because we found de minimis margins 
for Hang Lung and Nantong, we are excluding merchandise manufactured 
and exported by Hang Lung and Nantong from this order. The PRC-wide 
rate applies to all entries of the subject merchandise except for 
entries from the companies that are identified individually below.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                       Weighted-average
                Producer or exporter                    percent margin
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dongguan Huang Jiang United Wah Plastic Bag Factory                23.22
 (Also known as Dongwan Nozawa Plastics and United
 Power Packaging, Ltd.).............................
Rally Plastics Company, Ltd.........................               23.85
Shanghai Glopack Packing Co., Ltd., and Sea Lake                   19.79
 PolyethyleneEnterprise, Ltd. (Also known as Sea
 Lake Plastics Import MaterialProcessing Factory and
 Sea Lake Plastics Co., Ltd.).......................
Xiamen Ming Pak Plastics Co., Ltd...................               35.58
Zhongshan Dongfeng Hung Wai Plastic Bag Manufactory.               41.28
Beijing Lianbin Plastics and Printing Co., Ltd......               25.69
Dongguan Maruman Plastic Packaging Co.,                            25.69
 Ltd.(Formerly known as Dongguan Zhongqiao Combine
 Plastic Bag Factory)...............................
Good-in Holdings, Ltd...............................               25.69
Guangdong Esquel Packaging Co., Ltd.................               25.69
Nan Sing Plastics, Ltd..............................               25.69
Ningbo Fanrong Plastics Products Co., Ltd...........               25.69
Ningbo Huansen Plasthetics Co., Ltd.................               25.69
Rain Continent Shanghai Co., Ltd....................               25.69
Shanghai Dazhi Enterprise Development Co., Ltd......               25.69

[[Page 48203]]

 
Shanghai Fangsheng Coloured Packaging Co., Ltd......               25.69
Shanghai Jingtai Packaging Material Co., Ltd........               25.69
Shanghai Light Industrial Products Imports and                     25.69
 Export Corp........................................
Shanghai Minmetals Development, Ltd.................               25.69
Shanghai New Ai Lian Import and Export Co., Ltd.....               25.69
Shanghai Overseas International Trading Co., Ltd....               25.69
Shanghai Yafu Plastics Industries Co., Ltd..........               25.69
Weihai Weiquan Plastic and Rubber Products Co., Ltd.               25.69
Xiamen Xingyatai Industry Co., Ltd..................               25.69
Xinhui Henglong.....................................               25.69
PRC-wide Rate.......................................               77.57
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This notice constitutes the antidumping duty order with respect to 
PRCBs from the PRC, pursuant to section 736(a) of the Act. Interested 
parties may contact the Department's Central Records Unit, Room B-099 
of the Main Commerce Building, for copies of an updated list of 
antidumping duty orders currently in effect.
    This order is published in accordance with section 736(a) of the 
Act and 19 CFR 351.211.

    Dated: August 4, 2004.
Joseph A. Spetrini,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Import Administration.
[FR Doc. 04-18264 Filed 8-6-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P